The start of my first year with Swift.

Okay Louie Lamore thats just right fine story telling. I been that way too and it shore is tight in spots. That first down grade comming round the bend and seeing the lake for the first time is just a little steep and then getting up the other side whew. Drove right thru college town and delivered at Aarons. You need to start your own thread. Sherrif is taking a little hiatus, he says he still open for business to give advice to newbies, or whatever. Once I drove this guys truck to Ontario with no AC in the summer camped at the west TA. One hell of a night, got about one hundred trucks at half throttle all around me and I got one of those little fans blowing hot air on me. If the AC had been working, I'd been idling too. So here I sit in SLC just finished with the 10 pm news and still 85*degees outside, so I bet you'd be idiling too. Anyway yall excuse me, I'll turn in now or check out some trucking vids on youTube no I think I'll just retire for the evening.

 

Swift's policy is maximum 26% idle time per trip. However, I really just cannot stand sleeping in or near an idling truck. My best "night" sleep so far as a solo was last night, sacking out about five in the morning with all the windows open at a Walmart near Boise at 5:00 am local time, and waking up around at noon when it started getting warm enough to sweat. Killed a few hours "chilling" in the customer waiting room for auto repair (free coffee!) before getting on to my next drop and returned to Utah WM DC before midnight. Sacking out here, again with no idle and the windows open. First time so far as a solo getting into a normal sleep cycle. It did get over 100 degrees in the afternoon up in Boise.

I'm learning a lesson about managing my 70. Down to 11.5 hours with nothing to gain back for two days, had to turn down a sweet 1000 mile run. Maybe they can dispatch me to Reno for a 34....

 

I did forget one detail about that US-89 run. At one point there were signs noting a runaway truck ramp ahead. I'm down to 25-30 mph with jake on full, come around a corner to about a 1/4 mile straightaway with a 7% grade leading to a hairpin turn with suggested 20 mph speed. Dead ahead is the "runaway truck ramp", going straight UP a mountain side. My jaw dropped. The ramp was hard packed dirt and must have had a slope of at least 30-35 degrees with very little in the way of gradual easing into the steep slope. The G force compression alone would be something to consider, and if you survive that and your brakes are shot there's nothing to hold you from coming back down. Images of a semi rig tumbling came to mind.

 

Congrats on the Melton job! Got my pre-hire letter from System/TWT today, they run mostly KW's not sure of the model though, I will ask when I am out there later today. Starting training on the 15th, I will try to start a thread or blog about it, see you out there!

 

Don't congratulate me yet. May have just bombed my driving test.

 

Hate seeing this thread die.

 

T'was a good thread, that's for sure!

 

Did you get that job MrH?

 

Hah I'm still checking in,need a newbie to ask Sherrif something about trucking.But realisticly if the thread starter quit the business were just gonna have to go elsewhere. There's plenty more out there,catch y'all down the road.

 

I sure did. I got under my first load on Friday. It's weird, I keep doing the math on how much this 4 day load is paying me. $888. That's like a week and a half worth of loads at my last place! Flatbed isn't easy, starting out, but I love it so far!